Juan Pablo Galavis becomes the first Latino lead on ABC's show "The Bachelor."

By admin January 3, 2014 18:20

Juan Pablo Galavis loves to dance salsa, eat empanadas and kick ball — until 2008 he played professional soccer as midfielder and forward. The devoted dad, born to Venezuelan parents 32 years ago, will soon become the first Latino lead on ABC’s show “The Bachelor.”

“I am the Bachelor, and I am a Latino, and obviously it’s going to be me. So, there’s going to be a lot of Latino things in the show – a lot, you know, just me. And it’s going to be great. It’s going to be a lot of food, a lot of dancing,” he told Fox News Latino.

The dating reality show made its debut in 2002 and has been on the air for 17 seasons, but it had never before featured a Latino as the coveted prize.

“It’s not easy to find people from different cultures [for “The Bachelor”]. They don’t understand this show; they don’t want to be in this show. So it’s not easy and definitely the reaction has been great and I’m happy,” Galavis said.

The handsome Latino was a suitor on season 9 of “The Bachelorette,” featuring Desiree Hartsock. He said that being part of that show eased his traditional family into the idea of trying to find love on national TV the second time around.

“When I got [the spot] for ‘The Bachelor,’ I didn’t even tell my parents till the end, you know. I’ll say, can I get drinks for the lady? I’ve got to do this. So, they were fine, you know, and they respect me and they, you know, support me, so it wasn’t a big deal.”

Galavis, a Miami-based music consultant whose past includes promoting popular Latino musical artists such as Chino y Nacho, Obie Bermudez and Jerry Rivera, says a woman must be able to dance to win his heart.

“[I am] looking for a woman that is smart, that is honest, that likes sports a little bit maybe, and is looking for somebody that knows how to dance because I love dancing. That’s one of my biggest turn-ons, like I fall in love with that.”